Under-the-Radar Players Making Noise in Mariners Spring Training

The Seattle Mariners are 17 games into their Cactus League schedule. That puts them roughly halfway through their on-field tuneup session for the regular season, which makes now a good time to take stock of the standouts.

Among that bunch are plenty of usual suspects, whether we're talking established major league stars such as Julio Rodríguez and Bryan Woo or name-brand prospects like Lazaro Montes and Harry Ford.

Right here and right now, though, the focus is on players who have become unlikely heroes for the Mariners this spring. We're going to talk about three who are worth knowing, even if their Cactus League excellence isn't likely to result in a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Standout No. 1: INF/OF Samad Taylor

Spring Stats: 7-for-18 with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB

This is not Samad Taylor's first rodeo as a spring training star. The 26-year-old has 40 spring training games under his belt for his career, and in these he's a .354/.404/.671 hitter with six home runs and 24 runs batted in.

Further, Baseball Reference gives the quality of the opponents Taylor has faced this spring a 7.0 rating. That's equivalent to Double-A levels of talent, amounting to another reason to take the former Kansas City Royals prospect's latest performance with a grain of salt.

All the same, it's always eye-opening when a guy is average 96.5 mph on his batted balls, as Taylor is this spring. There's enough here for the Mariners to keep him on their radar should they need an injury replacement at some point, as they can keep him stashed at Triple-A Tacoma after he cleared waivers in January.

Standout No. 2: INF Nick Dunn

Spring stats: 7-for-17 with 3 RBI

The Mariners picked Nick Dunn up last October on a minor league deal, and he began spring training as a long shot possibility to earn the club's second base gig.

He is still a long shot in this regard, as it seems to be Ryan Bliss in the driver's seat at the keystone. Yet Dunn has lived up to what billing he had when the Mariners acquired him. He was a St. Louis Cardinals castoff, yet one who had more walks than strikeouts and a .280 average to show for six seasons in the minors.

The 28-year-old figures to join Taylor at Tacoma, where he'll stand by as backup in the event of injury. His best avenue to playing time is probably at third base, which is currently set to be a new home for longtime second baseman Jorge Polanco following offseason knee surgery.

Standout No. 3: RHP Will Klein

Spring stats: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 7 K

Will Klein's overall line for the spring may not look great, but he's been solid outside of a rough appearance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on February 25. And those seven strikeouts are out of 21 batters faced, equaling a 33.3 strikeout percentage.

Whereas Taylor and Dunn have middling Opponent Quality scores at Baseball Reference, Klein's is a sturdy 8.2. That is slightly better than Triple-A levels of talent, and his velocity readings are none too shabby either. His fastball has averaged 96.3 mph and reached 98.2 mph.

Acquired from the Athletics in January, the 25-year-old Klein has two minor league options left and is likely to begin the season in Tacoma. There is a little uncertainty at the bottom of Seattle's bullpen depth chart, however, so don't rule out him making his Mariners debut sooner rather than later.